


On Love, Loss, and a Painting

by AXEe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bittersweet, F/F, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, Loss, Trigger warning for sucide and miscarriage, lgbt pride month
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 18:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14983229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: In honor of LGBT Pride Month, I give you this, hopefully sweet, tragic General Danvers love story based upon the BBC specialMan in an Orange Shirt.    Please enjoy :=)





	On Love, Loss, and a Painting

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of LGBT Pride Month, I give you this, hopefully sweet, tragic General Danvers love story based upon the BBC special _Man in an Orange Shirt_. Please enjoy :=)

******

The painting was old, probably more than a decade. It had been tucked away in a closet for as long as Kara could remember, shoved in the back with some old sheets and blankets. She’d only seen it once that she could recall when she had been very little, when they’d moved. She remembered her mother had been reluctant to take it, Kara didn’t know why really; it was just a nice little painting of a pretty cottage, it would look great hanging on the wall of her new apartment.

Grunting, Kara edged the surprisingly bulky frame out of the closet and set it down, wrinkling her nose at the dust

“You find everything OK?” Alura called out

“Yeah, Mom,” Kara called back “hey, Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to keep this painting?”

“What painting?” Kara could hear Alura’s cane thumping up the stairs as she spoke

“The one in the back of the closet,” Kara explained as her mother appeared in the doorway “this one” Kara lifted the frame to show her

“Oh,” Alura blinked as she frowned at the painting “do what you want with it, keep it, throw it out, I don’t care”

“OK,” Kara nodded absently as she studied it “where’d you get it anyway?” she wondered

“A friend gave it to us, I think” Alura answered

“Why’d you put it in the closet?”

“We didn’t like it” Alura shrugged

“Why not?” Kara asked “I think it’s lovely”

“So did your aunt Astra” Alura grumbled disdainfully. Astra Inze had been a bone of contention for as long as Kara could remember, she and Alura having had a major falling out a few years after Kara was born.

Kara didn’t really remember her mother’s sister all that well, just that she’d been Alura’s identical twin sister and that she’d doted on Kara before she’d died somewhat suddenly, the circumstances of which were still somewhat muddled, Alura didn’t mention her much and Kara got the feeling that Astra’s sudden death was somehow connected to the falling out in some way, although what the falling out was about she didn’t know.

“Maybe James will like it” Kara suggested

“Hmm,” Alura grumbled “you know I haven’t even met this boy yet and you’re already moving in with him”

“Different times, Mom,” Kara chuckled, inwardly cringing at the thought of her mother’s reaction—her very conservative mother—to the knowledge that not only was her only daughter was moving in with a man she wasn’t married to, but that that man was a black man. The poor woman would probably have stroke, so best to keep it under wraps for a while at least.

Still frowning at the painting, Kara turned it over, finding that there was some writing on the back

“Hey, who’s ‘Alex’?” she asked

Alura froze in the doorway

“What?” she asked

“Who’s ‘Alex’?” Kara repeated “the painting’s got some writing on the back, _‘To Astra, all my love and affection, Alex'_ ,” she read “so? Who’s Alex? Old boyfriend of Aunt Astra’s?”

“No,” Alura shook her head “not a boyfriend”

“Well, who is he?” Kara probed “somebody she knew before Uncle Non?”

“Kara! Just drop it! All right?!” Alura suddenly snapped “it doesn’t matter anymore, all right? Just get that… _thing_ out of here!” she turned and stomped down the stairs again.

Leaving Kara utterly mystified…

******

“Your Mom got so upset over this?” James asked as Kara hammered a nail into the wall

“Yep,” she nodded as she took the painting from him and hung it up, where it promptly slipped sideways, hanging at an angle “damn it!” Kara put her hands on her hips and scowled

“Maybe the frame’s too heavy,” James suggested as he took it down and turned it over “hey, did you see this?” he held the painting up the light “there’s something odd about this frame”

“Yeah,” Kara noted “you’re right, it looks…too thin for the painting. _Or…_ ” she hurried to the boxes and unpacked the kitchen knives before hurrying back and taking the painting from James and, very carefully, began cutting along the edges of the canvas “I was right,” she grinned “there’s another painting under this one” she grunted as she freed the second painting, which had been glued to the back of the other before both had been set into the frame, one atop the other.

With a slight creak of wood, the second painting came free

“Is that…your Mom?” James asked as they studied the newly-revealed image of a woman in a red dress, seemingly—if the background was any indication—standing the doorway of the cottage from the first painting

“No,” Kara shook her head “that’s not Mom, that’s my aunt Astra,” she explained “you can tell by the hair, see? Aunt Astra had this streak of white in her hair”

“Hey, look at this” James turned back to the first painting, the one of the cottage, where what looked like a series of envelopes had been wedged into the back of the canvas, in between the wood supports

“No wonder it wouldn’t hang straight,” Kara realized “it was too heavy”

“These look like letters,” James reasoned as they opened the aged and worn yellowed envelopes “they’re all addressed to the same person, ‘A. Danvers’.”

“And some are addressed to Aunt Astra,” Kara nodded “hmm, I wonder if ‘A. Danvers’ is ‘Alex’,” she mused as she sorted through the envelopes, only some of which bore a postmark, most of them had obviously never been mailed and then, oddly, the whole lot of them had been sealed up in a painting for the last thirty or so years “ooh, did Aunt Astra have a secret lover?” she chuckled

“Uh…I think so,” James began hesitantly “but…I don’t think her lover’s name was ‘Alex’.” he held out one of the opened letters to her, pointing to the opening line

 _My dearest, darling Alexandra_ it began _you refuse my visits, and you’re probably tearing these letters up as well. I don’t care, do you understand me? I don’t care anymore, I don’t care what people think, what the law says, what my husband or my sister think._

_All I care about, all I have ever cared about is you, Alex. I lay awake at night thinking about our weekend in that little cottage, I remember your touch, your kisses with frightening clarity and I want more, I want you, even though I know that its far, far too late for us. I know that now, and I was fool to think otherwise. We both were in a way._

_So, I shall only ask you this, I want you to be happy, no matter what, I want you to live in the knowledge happy and content that you were loved, that **I** loved you, Alexandra Danvers, and if it were possible, I would like to hold you one more time, but we both know that isn’t possible, so I wish you well, wherever life takes you_

_\--Sincerely yours, Astra_

“Oh…wow,” Kara breathed as she looked up from the letter, surprised to find herself blinking away tears “James, there are dozens of these letters. Why were they never mailed?”

“Maybe Alex was already married,” James suggested “or maybe she was underage, didn’t want her parents to know”

“We need to find out more” Kara swore, pulling out another letter…

******

They spent the next few hours reading and rereading the old letters and were finally able to piece together a vague history. Astra, it seemed, would frequent bars and nightclubs, probably those that catered to the underground lesbian community at the time, and during one such night out had stumbled across a young woman named Alex Danvers, the exact circumstances of their meeting was unclear, but it appeared that they spent a whirlwind romantic weekend away in a cottage, the same cottage now depicted on the first painting.

The weekend came to a crashing halt, however, when Astra got married, although whether she was already engaged when she met Alex, they weren’t sure. Despite the marriage, Astra had apparently tried to remain close to Alex, apparently as friends, which didn’t work out, and at some point Alex stopped writing before starting up again, Astra had continued to write but never mailed any of her letters after June of 1962.

The final letter that Astra had written was crumpled and torn, half the page was missing, as if it had been torn in half. What could be read was written a sharp, frantic, rushed scrawl and there was only one line that was still legible

_My dear Alex, I worry for you. Today, Non found you letters, and he was furious, I’m afraid of what he might_

Was all it said, the rest having been torn off, and both Kara and James each got a sinking feeling in their gut as they thought of what might have happened

“Come on,” James stood up suddenly “the library’s still open”

“Got it” Kara grinned…

******

It took days of combing through old newspaper articles, both from the _Tribune_ as well as a few smaller independent papers that had floated around at that time, as well as old letters and diaries kept by the extended Inze clan, but finally they found out what happened.

Astra had not died as Kara had been led to believe, but had instead been institutionalized, no reason was given as to why in the articles, but both Kara and James could suspect. She remained institutionalized for ten years, during which time she wrote a majority of the letters found behind the painting, before finally being released, later tragically taking her own life following a series of failed pregnancies and miscarriages and the subsequent divorce.

Alex Danvers, on the other hand, had been arrested numerous times during police raids on the various lesbian clubs and bars, before suddenly dropping off the radar, she could still be alive as far as they knew.

As for the painting, it appeared that Alex had had the painting commissioned and later gave it to Astra as a wedding present as a sort of memento, hiding the portrait of Astra behind it as a sort of secret, and both James and Kara doubted that Astra ever knew that it was there…

******

Storming into her mother’s house a few days later, Kara said nothing as she silently set the portrait of Astra down on the coffee table in front of Alura, watching as Alura visibly stiffened, clearly recognizing the painting and its significance

“Explain,” Kara demanded “tell me, _exactly_ , how you could have your own _sister_ institutionalized?”

“It wasn’t my decision” Alura murmured quietly as she studied the painting “Astra was…well, she was sick, Kara”

“Sick?!” Kara demanded “is that what you call it? Sick? _You’re_ the one who’s sick!!” she spat. She sighed “no…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” she groaned and rubbed at her head, feeling tired and drained “Mom, she was in love. How is that wrong?”

“Back then it was,” Alura murmured “it was just…the way things were. But you’re right about one thing, Astra loved Alex, and Alex loved Astra. No doubt about that,” she shook her head “I was a child, I was the ‘good girl’, I did as told, minded my parents. Astra…was the rebel, the wild child. Even now, in these ‘enlightened’ times, she’d still be getting into trouble”

“You told me she died” Kara shook her head

“You were too young to understand, Kara,” Alura sighed “that being said…it wasn’t the right choice”

“What happened to Alex?” Kara wondered

“She died a few years later,” Alura explained “car crash in San Francisco,” she smirked humorlessly “I saw her once, about a week before she died. She didn’t blame me, she was…she was sympathetic, as odd as that may seem”

“I think I remember that” Kara murmured, having a sudden memory of a woman with short brown hair and bright brown eyes

“In fact,” Alura stood up and walked over to a cabinet, pulling out a photograph and coming back over “here she is,” she proclaimed as she gave the photo to Kara “that’s Alex in the middle,”

The photo was old, worn, the grainy, black and white image showed a pretty young brunette standing in between the Inze twins grinning for the camera

“Turn it over,” Alura encouraged. Frowning, Kara gently eased the photo out of the frame and turned it over, finding a neat little note on the back

_My Alex, my life and my bride_

Blinking, Kara looked up at Alura

“See,” Alura smiled bitter-sweetly “the newspapers don’t tell you everything. Astra _did_ eventually take her own life. But, before then, for a few years at least after she was released, they were as good as married”

“They tried again,” Kara realized sadly “tried to make it work”

“They did,” Alura nodded “it was just…the wrong time,” she sighed as Kara gently placed the picture back in its frame “keep it,” Alura instructed “Astra would want you to know the story. That was part of her problem, I’m afraid, she was shameless, she wanted to shout that she loved Alexandra Danvers from the rooftops, and back then…,” she trailed off, awkwardly taking Kara’s hands “oh, Kara, I wish I’d told you sooner”

“I know,” Kara nodded “but, I know now,” she sat up as she studied the portent of Astra “come on, get your coat,” she instructed “there’s something we need to do”

******

The cemetery was quiet, as all cemeteries are, and the gravestone—paid for by Alura Zorel—was lovely. Made of green marble, it stood flanked besides the gravestone of Alex Danvers. A closer examination would reveal that Alex Danvers’ gravestone was made of the same green marble as Astra’s, while the gravestone of Astra’s husband was situated further back, Non having been buried next to his second wife, which might cause an observer to comment on why Astra Inze was buried next to a seemingly-random woman rather than her husband.

“You did this,” Kara realized as she looked at her mother “had them buried side by side”

“I did,” Alura nodded “I figured...it was the least I could do”

Keeping a steadying hand on Alura’s arm, Kara bent and placed the handful of flowers at each gravestone

“I wish I could have known them” she mused as she stood up

“You would’ve liked them,” Alura vowed “and they would have liked you”

“Mom…,” Kara began “I’d…I’d like you to come over for dinner tonight with me and James, I think it’s time you guys finally meet”

Alura smiled and took her daughter’s hand

“I’d like that” she nodded. As they turned to leave, Kara spared a glance back at the two gravestones, finding it fitting that they remained, side by side. Perhaps, she hoped, that now they might finally be able to truly be in love…

******

“There!”

Kara stepped back and admired the two paintings, now hanging side by side, while beneath them, on a small table, sat the photograph of Alex and the twins

“Perfect,” Kara nodded to herself as someone knocked at the door. Getting up, she opened it, finding Alura on the other side “ah, Mom, you’re just in time,” she declared as she led Alura inside to where James was setting up table “Mom, this is James” she introduced

For a moment, Alura said nothing, but then, after a quick glance at the three new pictures now proudly adorning one wall, straightened up and offered her hand

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you” she said

“Likewise,” James nodded “uh, come and sit down” he invited as they all sat down around the small dining table, the portrait of Astra looking on, and perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Kara could have sworn she saw the portrait smile at them…

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> This story is dedicated, with the utmost respect and affection, to all of those of the LGBTQ community who strove for equal rights and recognition under the eyes of the law and who continue to fight against bigotry and hatred to this day. Never give up the fight


End file.
